Singers from the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge will give UK premiere of Jonathan Harvey’s Es Blühn Drei Rosen at evensong on 30 January.

 

The 8-minute work for four male voices (ATTB) sets a traditional Marian song text from Silesia and was first performed at the 2009 Carinthischer Sommer Festival. The form is strophic, with four verses, each containing a brief melismatic ‘O Maria’ in which the upper three voices move independently of the beat.

 

Harvey was a music scholar at St John’s and this performance follows on from the Choir’s award-winning disc of his choral music released on Signum in 2016. Read an interview with Andrew Nethsingha, the Choir’s Music Director, here.

 

Harvey's Es Blühn Drei Rosen will be performed by members of the Choir of St John's, Cambridge at 1830 on 30 January 2019